Baseball Notes

â€¢ PHOENIX - Eric Gagne finally felt again like he did during his dominating run as the Los Angeles Dodgers' closer. He pitched in a game without any pain.

Gagne faced hitters for the first time this year, throwing 11 pitches in a B-game Monday for the Texas Rangers. The most important result for the 2003 NL Cy Young Award winner was how he felt.

"It's just good to be out there, be free and not have to worry about anything but making your pitches. It's been awhile since I felt that way," Gagne said. "It's the best I've felt in two years."

The right-hander has had three operations (two elbow, one back) since his 2002-04 stretch with the Dodgers, when he converted a record 84 straight save chances. He was limited to 15 1-3 innings the last two seasons.